Internet and Venice

I'm just posting a quick email before I give Anung her computer back. The internet is still down in my room (it'll be a week tomorrow) and I stole hers for a bit to update this and finalize some bookings. I'll be leaving for Venice tomorrow afternoon and returning Thursday night. I probably won't be able to contact anyone until then, so if you don't hear from me, don't worry. I'll post about it as soon as I get back. Love you all!

Butler is taking all of us on a Delphi adventure weekend. We're leaving in about two hours, and I won't have internet again until Sunday night unless there's some there, which I don't think there is. On a completely unrelated note:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMY!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll find you a cool present while I'm here. I'm lame and forgot to send a card. But I do love you!

One Step Closer

I've just gotten a text that Shane is calling me back for Blood Wedding. Callbacks are tomorrow night at 6. Even if I don't get in, it's nice to know that I'm not going to be immediately excluded because I'm American. They've asked that we actually prepare about one minute of a song to sing, as several characters apparently do sing a bit. I have to decide on something...I'm terrible at that.

Today, my campus smelled of cows.

And there were no cows in sight.

Life at NUIM.

So, I figured it's time for an update on how I'm living here. I'm in a flat with four other students, all Irish. We each have our own room with en-suite, and we share a kitchen/common area. There's pretty much everything we need dishes-wise in the kitchen, even if they don't all match. Our toaster seems to have died on us, but everything else is working. There's a table and then little couch thingys with a small tv in one corner. It's not much, and I'm dying for more counter space and a bigger sink, but it's liveable, provided the floor isn't so sticky one thinks they're taking tile with them when they walk.

And, now for my flatmates:
First off, there's Hannah. She's from Mayo, and she's really sweet and quiet-unless you get her alone, then she talks a lot. She's signed up for Drama Society, so we'll probably be doing a lot of stuff together. She's the one I've talked to the most so far.

Sarah is instantly friendly and outgoing, and I can't remember where she's from. It starts with a W. She's not around a lot, but I always like talking to her when she is. She sometimes brings a friend or two over, which is cool, because her friends are all really nice.

Johnny is...interesting. He really is a nice guy, and I like him, but he also irritates me a lot. He kind of thinks he's God's gift to women, and he's definately gunning to hook up with an American girl. He can be hard to understand sometimes, but if you actually make the effort, a decent conversation can happen. The one bad thing is that he's overly fond of having parties that involve a load of people, alcohol, and tend to end in security coming to have a few words with him. Also, he tries to clean, but he has no idea how to clean properly, so it really just has to be done again.

Our final flatmate actually just got here a few days ago. He's the third person to be assigned the room after the first two never showed. His name is Robbie, and we all really like him. He's polite, cleans, and is actually really nice to talk to. We had a great conversation the other night while I made and ate dinner. He does smoke, but he only does it in his room or asks before he smokes in the common area, so it's not a problem. He dumps his ashes and airs the room out when he's done. Apparently, he's already annoyed with Johnny and is going to talk to him about the parties.

Laundry is ridiculously expensive, and I wish I could just go home for the weekend and do mine then like all the Irish students. Alas, I am stuck spending 3 euro for every wash and 3 more for every dry.

My room isn't quite as comfy as I'd like it to be yet, but it's getting there. I've got a fleece blanket now, and there was a poster sale on campus, so I do have some decorations. I could use a few more things, and pictures. I was stupid and completely forgot to bring any pictures with me. I think there's a printing kiosk thing at the nearby shopping centre, so I may take a cd there and print some off. My window shade is broken, but if I want it up, I just fold the end over. Also, I have drawers under my bed, which is very cool.

I'm getting tired of typing now, so I'll do a post about classes and such later. Love to all!

Oh, what a beautiful mooooorrrnnniiinnnngggg!!!

I'm ecstatic right now. Fairs day finally happened, and I'm signed up for several different clubs and societies. I'll have things to do, and to make it all absolutely wonderful, I've met some of the theatre people!!! There's a meeting tonight at 6:30, and it can't come fast enough for me. Seriously, just the two members I talked to very briefly had that "theatre person" vibe and it's infectious. That on top of the fact that my Modern Drama course sounds like it's going to be fantastic have put me on a bit of a theatre high. (We're studying Strindberg, Shaw, Pinter, Brecht, and Mamet in my course, and the lecturere is funny to boot.) I'm going to go make lunch before heading off to the world of 18th Century Literature and Culture.